dao

See also: Dao and Appendix:Variations of "dao"

English

A Chinese dao and scabbard.

A Naga dao and scabbard.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aʊ

Etymology 1

1. From the pinyin romanization of Chinese 道 (Dào, literally “the Way”) or (dào, "circuit").
2. From the pinyin romanization of Chinese 刀 (dāo, literally “single-edged blade”).

Proper noun

dao

1. (Chinese philosophy) Alternative form of Tao: the way of nature and/or the ideal way to live one's life.

Noun

dao (usually uncountable, plural daos)

1. (historical) Synonym of circuit: various administrative divisions of imperial and early Republican China.
2. A Chinese sword with a curved, single-edged blade, primarily used for slashing and chopping
3. A sword and construction tool of the Naga people of India, which has a wooden hilt and grows wider from the narrow hilt to the wide, flat tip.

Etymology 2

From Tagalog or Cebuano dao.

Noun

dao (plural daos)

1. Dracontomelon dao; a large tree of the family Anacardiaceae; the argus pheasant tree.
2. The hard strong wood of the dao used for veneers and cabinetwork.

Anagrams

• ADO, AOD, DOA, ODA, Oda, ado, oad, oda

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Aromanian

Alternative forms

• dau, dauã, doauã

Etymology

Feminine form of doi. From Latin duae, nominative feminine of duo.

Numeral

dao f (masculine doi)

1. two

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Cebuano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: da‧o

Noun

dao

1. dao (Dracontomelon dao)
2. the edible fruit of this tree
3. the wood from this tree

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Limburgish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɔː˨]

Adverb

dao

1. there

Synonyms

• der

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɔː˦]

Adverb

dao

1. for that reason

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Mandarin

Romanization

dao

1. Nonstandard spelling of dāo.
2. Nonstandard spelling of dáo.
3. Nonstandard spelling of dǎo.
4. Nonstandard spelling of dào.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Tagalog

Etymology

Compare Cebuano dao, Kapampangan dau,and Indonesian dahu.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: da‧o
• IPA^(key): /daˈʔo/, [dɐˈʔo]

Noun

daó

1. dao tree (Dracontomelon dao)
2. wood from the dao tree

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Toba Batak

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *zauq.

Adjective

dao

1. far

References

• Warneck, J. (1906). Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch. Batavia: Landesdrukkerij, p. 45.

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Toraja-Sa'dan

Adverb

dao

1. above

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Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (North Central Vietnam) đao

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-taːw, from Old Chinese 刀 (OC *C.tˤaw) (B-S) (SV: đao). Compare North Central Vietnamese đao (“knife”).

This word was borrowed at a stage when the Sinitic word still retained the preinitial, thus causing lenition: *-t- > Middle Vietnamese dĕao [ðj-] > modern [z- ~ j-]. The Sino-Vietnamese reading đao, on the other hand, derived from Middle Chinese 刀 (MC tɑu) when the onset already simplified and resulted in a stop. The North Central đao, although formally identical to the more recent Sino-Vietnamese reading due to the fact that these dialects did not undergo lenition to the large extent, belongs to the same stratum as dao, as indicated by the meaning "knife".

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaːw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jaːw˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [jaːw˧˧]
• Homophone: Dao; giao

Noun

(classifier con) dao • (刀, 釖, 鉸)

1. knife

   dao bếp ― a kitchen knife

Derived terms

• dao lam (“razor blade”)
• dao cạo (“razor”)